My Life as a Psuedo Vegetarian

Summer at our place means no more meat. It is the time of year we turn into vegetarians.

“What?!” you say, “summers are for burgers and barbecues!”

I know, I know.

If you have been reading this blog you must know that I am a Mormon.

In the Word of Wisdom we are told:

Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;

And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

Most Mormons kind of ignore this part of the Word of Wisdom.

If you are one of “those Mormons” don’t be offended. Being extremely carnivorous myself, I am one of “those Mormons” too.

But the last few years I have kind of been wondering if I have just been rationalizing.

My husband, wise man that he is, interprets the Word of Wisdom in such a way that he thinks we should try to only consume meat in the cold months of the year. He figures that our bodies do not really need meat when it is hot outside. This rings true to me just going on what my body is telling me. Eating meat when it is hot out leaves me feeling heavy and just blah.

I could see that there must be some health benefit to eating less meat. We have some friends who have been what my husband has come to call “Mormon vegetarians” -meaning they do eat fish because there is nothing about that in the Word of Wisdom- for years and they are the healthiest people I know. But still, I kept dragging my feet.

As a mom who already has the daunting task of cooking three meals a day for my family, I was a little resistant about making that sort of a drastic change.

But then there was that thing about it being pleasing unto the Lord. Well, I love God and I want to please Him. So last year I finally took the plunge and stopped eating meat for the summer.

And you know what? It really wasn’t hard at all. I basically used all the same recipes I always used. I would usually just substitute rice or beans for the meat and increase the volume of vegetables.

This summer we kind of got a late start at our vegetarian stint. Consequently, I kept forgetting. I found myself in a drive through the other day (which is rarely a good idea anyway) and ordered a chicken sandwich. Later on my husband said something about it and I replied, “Oops. I forgot I was a vegetarian”.

But since then I think it has finally sunk in and I am feeling pretty good.

By the way in case you see one of my kids stuffing a burger down his throat know this. Our kids are not necessarily vegetarians-depending on the availability/proximity of meat. But hey, all we can do is lead by example.

And so, now that I am sort of kind of back to blogging I may occasionally share some of my ideas with you on eating vegetarian.

Take it or leave it.

One Comment

1. Tessie
   Posted July 31, 2010 at 5:04 pm

   I’m really excited to read about your vegetarian ways! It makes a lot of sense to do that because of the word of wisdom. I’d love to see your recipes!

I Make No Guarantees

You may have noticed that I have been pretty silent these last few weeks. That is because my life kind of imploded.

That happens sometimes when you have a child with autism.

But I have been missing my food blog. Mostly I have been missing the food. My food blog gives me extra incentive to make yummy things to eat.

So I am back-sort of. I make no guarantees. I would love to tell you I will be posting on a regular basis but that probably won’t happen. I am kind of unreliable like that. But if you are alright with a flaky food blogger, I would love to have you stop by.

Love,

Jen

One Comment

1. Jessica
   Posted July 30, 2010 at 1:41 pm

   Flaky food bloggers are actually my favorite.

Picky Eaters Revisited

I am no expert when it comes to what to do with picky eaters.

Believe me-seriously.

As you may remember I have 4 picky eaters that reside in my home.

They frustrate me to no end.

I have not been the best example to them but I have tried.

I love what the Lazy Organizer has to say about picky eaters.

However–

I think her advice only works if you have “normal” children.

From the time my first two kids were babies, we taught them by example to eat their veggies, etc. And they did! Happily! Joyfully!

Hooray!

It looked as if my mother’s curse was not going to be realized.

But then Baby #3 came along. He not only had the good example of his parents but two older siblings to look to.

But he wasn’t buying it.

Baby #3 was not interested in eating much of anything. Most of his food ended up on the floor.

Today, baby #3 is 14 years old. He still isn’t interested in eating much of anything.

And of course, he is starving!

What is a mother to do?

My son has some definite sensory issues going on. Foods literally make him gag. The smell, the texture, the taste.

Personally, I can relate to this.

When I was a kid I remember vomiting within seconds after my mother forced me to eat peas.

Was it all just in my head? I do not think so.

A few short years ago, I decided to try sauerkraut- a new food to me. I was determined to eat it after reading all about the health benefits of eating fermented foods. The smell was nauseating. Did I already mention that I was determined to eat it? Because I was DETERMINED-for my sake and for the sake of setting a good example to my kids. I shoved it in my mouth. I really, sincerely tried to just taste it and love it and swallow it. You know, because I was an adult, a mom, mature. I could do this. I did swallow it. I took another bite and could barely get it down. Then I was literally sick. It took all my will power to not throw it up. I was sick for the rest of the day and swore that never again would that crap pass my lips. Okay, only if I was literally starving and it was the only food on earth would I ever eat that stuff again. Ugh!

No offense if you love sauerkraut but -uh-gross.

Where am I going with this? Well, for one thing, I remember being really frustrated as a kid that no one seemed to get how much certain foods really made me gag. The texture of certain foods was very disturbing to me. This is the first time I am admitting this publicly. This is a secret I have kept from my kids. The truth is: I get it.

Maybe some kids just need a little discipline when it comes to their picky eating habits. Maybe they are just that-habits that need to be re-trained.

Sometimes though it is not because you are wimpy or spoiled or crazy or picky or because of bad parenting.

My son with autism has taught me a lot. One of the things I have learned is that some of us in this world really have huge sensory issues. They are not just in our head. They are real. They are something we have to learn to deal with the best we can.

The trick is just how do you do that?

I do not know the answer to that.

But I am starting to figure out that it sure helps to have those things validated.

That and blending up veggies and hiding them in their repertoire of acceptable foods….try it.

2 Comments

1. heathermommy
   Posted July 2, 2010 at 8:57 am

   i was force fed sauerkraut for 6 months of my life, so i hear you. on top of the sauerkraut i had to eat pork so i don’t really know how i survived that.

   i think evie has these sensory issues too and i see it play out in her eating as well. i guess i should be more understanding.

2. ginger
   Posted August 6, 2010 at 9:18 am

   I hear you Jen, the texture of applesauce makes me gag. No idea why, but it has since I was a kid.